


But If I Hurt You (I’d Make Wine From Your Tears)

by Wyrd_Syster



Series: Two Worlds Collided [3]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Diego is reckless and gets hurt, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Vanya is his emergency contact
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-12-26 02:31:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18273983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wyrd_Syster/pseuds/Wyrd_Syster
Summary: With more force than one would imagine coming from such a small, fragile girl, Vanya spit, “You don’t know anything about me or my family.”“But I know Diego,” Eudora said, stressing each word. “Maybe better than you do.”.OR.When Diego gets seriously injured, Eudora is determined to be there for him. Unfortunately, so is Vanya, whose recent autobiographical publication puts her at odds with her brother, and his over-protective ex-girlfriend.





	But If I Hurt You (I’d Make Wine From Your Tears)

**Author's Note:**

> You all are the sweetest readers, I am so thrilled with the responses so far! I've been very excited for this one, and I hope you like it. I want to note, I had my roommate (who has never watched the show) beta this one and she said "wow, why are you so mean to these two?" So you know. Get ready.

The cover of the book seemed to glare at Eudora everywhere she went in the city, taunting her. 

_ I hold the answers to your secrets _ , it seemed to whisper from behind the glass window of the bookstore, where a display of them had been artfully arranged.  _ I can tell you everything he never wanted to say. _

Eudora was a strong woman, but maybe not that strong. The bell above the bookshop door gave a cheery twinkle as she walked in. She flushed, as though walking into the store was in itself an act of betrayal. 

The book was lighter in her hands then she had imagined. Especially light considering the heavy secrets she knew she could find in its pages. A young Vanya stared at her from the cover, looking alone and forgotten under the boldface type  _ EXTRA ORDINARY: MY LIFE AS NUMBER SEVEN.  _

Eudora flipped the book over and examined the back cover. A positive review from some long-forgotten singer, a short paragraph explaining what to find within, and there was Vanya as an adult, her face a little plaintive, a little sad, and very smug.

She couldn’t even be bothered to smile, Eudora thought. Still, those sad eyes seem to be speaking to her.  _ I can tell you why it didn’t work out, _ they said.  _ I can tell you exactly what’s wrong with Diego and how to fix him _ .

Eudora put the book back in down disgust, turned, and left the shop.

So far, Vanya’s little tell-all had only spent three weeks on the bestseller list. Not exactly breaking any records, and not exactly doing anything new for the world of literature.

“ _ A Gossip Rag By Any Other Name _ ,” had read the review from Eudora’s favorite pop-literature critic. “Hargreeves tells a painstakingly sad tale of abuse, loneliness, and living with the horrible knowledge that your ‘parent’ prefers your siblings to you. However, Hargreeves’ inability to see past her own trauma to understand that of her siblings--which she details in light, almost trivial tones--makes the experience shallow. This book feels less like the introspective autobiography she obviously hoped to produce and more like a tattle-tale on her more popular siblings. A woeful conclusion to the soaring tale of the Umbrella Academy.” 

It was tempting to turn back and buy her book, single out all the passages about Diego. Find out what happened in his childhood that made him tick, find a reason why they couldn’t make their relationship work. 

It was tempting and so, so vile. Even though she hadn’t really spoken to him in over a year, she knew she couldn’t do that to him, read the secrets of his life he had been unwilling to share with her while they were together. It was pinnacle voyeurism, and even  _ wanting _ to know what Vanya had written made Eudora feel dirty.

There was a part of her that wanted to reach out to Diego and see how he was handling this. But every time Eudora reached for her phone, she hesitated. Their final break-up had been a horrific, all-out brawl of a screaming match where she had detonated her nuclear insult too early and with too much relish. She could still picture the way his face and shone with hurt and how his eyes went cold.

Since then, she had seen him at crime scenes, skulking in the periphery of the police tape, getting in her way, getting in  _ everyone’s way _ , and, annoyingly, producing results. Still, apart from a volley of catty insults and poorly veiled innuendos, the two hadn’t really spoken in over a year. Insults were easy and cost nothing. Apologies were hard and could cost everything. And Eudora wasn’t sure she wanted to pay that price.

So, instead of calling Diego when she got back to her apartment, she settled down and turned on the TV right in time to catch the tail-end of an interview with Allison Hargreeves.

“--understand she feels slighted,” Allison was saying to the interviewer. Her mass of tight, golden curls bobbed ever so slightly as she spoke. Her face was serious and sad and her big, brown eyes were shining with unshed tears. What a wonderful actress she was. “And she has every right to be. We all do, in some ways. What we all went through as children?” She gave a big, heartfelt sigh, shaking her blonde curls. “But I wish she had reached out for  _ help _ instead of running away and concocting these...well, they’re  _ lies _ . We’re her family, we love her. I just wish she felt the same way.”

“And there you are folks, Allison Hargreeves, star of the new hit thriller  _ Through With You _ , talking about her role, her recent Golden Globe nomination, and of course, her sister, Vanya,” the newscaster reported, smiling toothily from his desk. 

“Now folks, if you’re running out right now to grab yourself a copy, I’d hold off if I were you. The newest reports show that  _ Extra Ordinary: My Life As Number Seven _ has fallen in the bestseller lists this week, taking a beating from number one to number  _ seven, _ if you can believe the irony. I’d say, save yourself the hassle and a few bucks and wait a while before you buy, it’s sure to be on sale at your local bookseller soon! And now, Andy with the weather!”

Eudora felt a sick feeling of satisfaction worming its way through her stomach. She couldn’t help but smile.

\----

A few months later, Eudora felt sick to her stomach, but for wholly different reasons. In the final track of her detective training and working a real case with a her captain, she was running on coffee and fumes, and a wild fear was clenched around her heart. The police cruiser was speeding towards the hospital, and she wasn’t sure what she’d find when she got there.

It wasn’t the ideal ending to her first case, but still, it really wasn’t her fault the sting operation went awry, and she knew that. Sometimes, bad information looks good on the outside, and ironclad strategies rust and break apart at the last moment.

When they had sent Rodriguez into the warehouse, it had seemed, for a few, short minutes that everything was going her way. Finally, after years of struggling and working her ass off, she was right where she needed to be. She was on track to be the youngest detective in the precinct, and a woman of color at that. She had found a wonderful mentor in her captain, had a great track record, and an exciting case that was about to have a successful resolution….

But, it had taken only ten minutes for the plan to fall apart. Five minutes of sheer panic, trying to communicate with Rodriguez, trying to organize their extraction plan, trying desperately to salvage any part of this disaster.

And it had taken Diego--hiding and watching from the roof far above the eyes of the squad--only a minute to realize there was a problem. He had sprang into action while the rest of the police team was floundering, and Eudora had all but ran in after him.

Rodriguez has emerged from the building four minutes later, beaten, bruised and bloodied, but otherwise fine. Diego, on the other hand….

“Officer Eudora Patch,” she flashed her badge at the nurses station. Three women, all in varying arrays of busy-to-haried, looked up at her, expectantly. “Is the patient awake? I have a few questions for him.” 

Two of the nurses got back to work, seemingly agreeing this was above their pay grade. The third stepped around the station to speak with Eudora directly. “He’s awake for now, but he’s on a pretty intense pain medication,” She said, leading Eudora to the patient’s room. “He should be rather cognizant at the moment, but I have to go give him another dose in a few minutes, just need to check with the doctor first. But, he’ll be a little fuzzy after that.”

Eudora felt cold. “Can you tell me what I should expect before I go in?”

“Besides the contusions he has torn shoulder ligaments--those we’ll probably have to schedule a surgery to fix, but that’s for the doctor to decide,” she ticked off. “Three bruised ribs--one might be fractured but we won’t know until the swelling goes down--and he received quite a nasty cut on the side of his head, needed twelve stitches.” She sighed deeply. “What a shame, he’s a very nice looking young man, but it’ll probably leave a bad scar.”

“I like a good scar,” Eudora said automatically. She cursed herself as the nurse gave her an odd look. “Sorry, bad joke.”

“I see,” the nurse said, uncertainly. She gestured towards the door. “He’s in a single room, like your captain requested, so there shouldn’t be any interruptions. I’ll be back in a bit to re-administer his pain medication.”

“Right, thank you,” Eudora mumbled. She steeled herself and pushed through the doors.

Inside the room felt faintly like being underwater. The recess lighting of ceiling had been dimmed, so the main light source came from the soft, blue glow of the machines. They beeped in a steady rhythm, punctuating the quietness which felt thick and tangible.

Surrounded by crisp, white linens, and hooked up to tubes, the blue light made Diego look unworldly. Even from afar, his face had a greyish green tinge to it, and his posture, even lying down, was stiff.

“Diego?” she asked quietly, not trusting her own voice in this room.

Instantly, his eyes sprang open and he turned his head to face her. “Dora, you’re here,” he said, a smile ghosting his lips. It didn’t meet his eyes, because how could it? The entire left side of his face was mottled green, yellow and blue from bruising, his eye swollen shut. And a thick, surgical bandage stretched from the corner of his eye to the back of his head.

Eudora cleared her throat, trying to keep her voice soft and calm. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Not too bad, all things considered,” Diego groaned, sinking further into the pillows. Eudora pulled up a chair next to his bed. She could see his left shoulder bound up in plaster, the bulk awkwardly angling him towards her. She resisted the urge to clasp his hand in hers. “They’ve got me on something pretty good. I feel all floaty.”

“Yeah, oxycontin's a helluva drug.”

“Mmm...can hardly feel my head, which is probably good,” Diego said. “Nurse tells me those assholes got me right up to the bone. Said they could see bits of it while they were stitching me back up.”

“Only bits of it?” Eudora asked. “Bonehead like you, figured they’d cut in and that’s  _ all _ they’d see.”

Diego squinted at her, then smiled. “Hey, that was a joke.”

“It was, good to see you’re still on the top of your game.”

“Making jokes while I’m lying here, half dead in a hospital bed,” Diego sighed, grin still pulling at his features. “And here I thought you’d care a little.”

“I do care,” Eudora said. Then, because he was hurt and seeing him broken in the hospital inspired a reckless sort of honesty with her she said, “Diego, when I heard over the radio you ran in after Rodriguez? I-I almost ran after you. Not because I was worried about you messing up my hostage situation, but I was worried you were going to get yourself killed. And then Rodriguez came out and you were still in there and we had audio on the building and I could  _ hear _ ...and it took so long to get to you and when they got you out you were just…” She could close her eyes and still see him, a bloody, pulpy mess on a stretcher, unresponsive.

“Hey, hey Dora,” Diego reached out his hand and gently grasped hers. Because she could be brave but he could be  _ bold _ . “I’m right here, they didn’t get me. I’m going to be okay.”

“I know,” Eudora said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. 

This was the moment to apologize. This was the time to let him know how frightened she had been, listening to his screams over the radio, that he might die without ever knowing how sorry she was for the way things had ended. She could be strong here, bare her heart for him to see.

Eudora was a strong woman, but maybe not that strong. 

So, instead, she asked, “Can you tell me what happened? When you got in there?”

Diego’s good eye trained on her face conveyed his understanding. He knew her mental torment. Knew she was deflecting. And let her do it anyways because he never had it in him to push her past her limits.

“There were five guys,” he said. “Two were holding Rodriguez’s arms, forcing him to kneel. One had a gun to his head, was going to shoot him point-blank. I didn’t see the other two until I had already incapacitated the executioner. I told Rodriguez to run, he didn’t look like he was in any shape to fight. And the rest, well, it all goes a little fuzzy after that.”

“I just don’t understand how they got ahold of you,” Eudora said. “I’ve seen you take down multiple attackers before with ease, especially when you had the element of surprise. What happened here, Diego?”

Diego avoided her eyes, twisting his hand out of her grasp. “One of them had read the book,” he said after a moment, picking at the blanket haphazardly. “He knew what to say. What buttons to push. I...I lost focus and before I knew it, they had me.”

“Oh, Diego,” Eudora sighed.

“Did you read it?” he asked suddenly, grimacing as he moved his head too quickly.

“Of course I didn’t,” she said. She reached out and laid her hand on his arm, willing him to believe her. “Diego, I would never--”

There was a knock at the door.

“Sorry to interrupt,” said the nurse from before, bustling in. “But it’s time for his medication.”

“Of course,” Eudora said, pulling back her hand. “I’ll just--”

“Stay,” Diego said, softly. Eudora looked at him in surprise. “I don’t want to be...will you please stay? At least until I’m asleep.”

Eudora looked over at the nurse who was administering the morphine. She shrugged. “He’ll be out in fifteen tops, and the doctor isn’t going to see him again until the morning.”

Eudora nodded. “Okay,” she said to the nurse. Then, quieter, just for Diego, “Okay. I’ll be here. I promise.”

He smiled at her, his eyelids already beginning to droop. 

The nurse left and Eudora made herself comfortable in the chair, reaching out for Diego’s hand again, wanting to give him at least a modicum of comfort when-- 

“Diego?”

Even though it had only been a few weeks since Eudora had last seen her face, it had been years since she had heard that soft voice in person. At the time, she had pitied the last Hargreeves child, saw the pain and desperation in her eyes as obvious as if it were her own. Now, pity was replaced with rage, and she shot up from Diego’s side and pushed Vanya out the door into the hall.

“Ouch! What the hell--Eudora?”

“What do you think you’re doing here?” Eudora asked.

Under the sharp lights of the hallway fluorescents, Vanya’s skin looked papery and grey. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot-- _ not used to late nights _ , Eudora thought--and her hair was stringy and unkempt. Whether it was a product of actual concern for Diego, or possibly the sins of her tell-all had caught up to her, Eudora neither knew nor cared.

“What am I doing here? I’m his sister,” Vanya said. “What are  _ you _ doing here? I thought you two had broken up?”

That….that shocked Eudora for just a moment. Wildly, she tried to recount the number of times she and Diego had officially broken up over the years to parse together which one would’ve been significant enough to trickle down the gossip vine of the Hargreeves household to Vanya.

Still, Eudora crossed her arms and fixed Vanya with a cold look. “Yes, we are no longer dating. But I’m still a police officer and this is still an open investigation,  _ that I am working _ . So, I’ll ask again, what are you doing here, Vanya? No next of kin was notified.”

“Yeah, well, I’m still his emergency contact, and that counts for something,” Vanya said. She seemed insulted by Eudora’s reaction to her presence. Was she just that dense? Did she not understand?

“Not enough, I’m afraid,” Eudora said. “I can’t let you see him.”

“But the nurse said he was fine to take visitors--”

“It’s not that.” God, she really was playing dumb, wasn’t she? “Vanya, Diego will not be happy to see you, especially in this state. Go home, I’ll notify you on his progress.”

“Not happy to see me?” Vanya asked, outraged. “When has Diego ever been happy to see anyone? Look, he’s my  _ brother _ , he’s  _ hurt _ , I just--”

“He won’t want to speak with you, Vanya.”

“And why not?”

“Because of your stupid  _ book _ !” Eudora snapped. That at least had enough of an impact to knock Vanya back on her heels. She even had the decency to look a little ashamed.  “He’s pissed off Vanya, really pissed. And I think he has every right to be, quite frankly.”

Vanya scoffed. “Oh you do?” Then, with more force than one would imagine coming from such a small, fragile girl, she spit, “You don’t know anything about  _ me _ or my  _ family _ .”

“But I know Diego,” Eudora said, stressing each word. “Maybe better than you do.”

Vanya matched Eudora’s glare, shaking with hostility. The lights around them flickered, and the feeling of something building wrapped around them, like the static electricity that blanketed the air before a storm. Eudora could feel her pulse dancing across her skin, her focus narrowing to the woman before her…

A stack of papers on the nursing station went flying to the ground with a loud  _ SMACK _ , disrupting the tension building between Eudora and Vanya. 

“Unless you’re about to arrest me,  _ officer _ , you need to get out of my way and let me see my brother,” Vanya said.

Eudora took a beat, glaring at her, then stepped aside and, with an exaggerated gesture that would’ve made Diego laugh, let Vanya into the hospital room, following her and closing the door to the hallway behind them.

\---

Diego was still and quiet on the bed, his chest rising steadily and the monitors around him beeping. At the sound of the door opening, he turned to face them, squinting with his one good eye to make them out in the half-light.

“Vanya?” he rasped.

“Hey, Diego,” Vanya replied, sliding into the seat Eudora had been sitting in earlier. For her part, Eudora backed into the corner by the door, arms crossed, ready to bear witness.

“Vanya, what are you doing here?” Diego asked. His face was light, almost happy, although his eyelids still looked heavy. The morphine was definitely starting to work.

“They called me when you got hurt,” Vanya soothed. “Diego, what did you do to yourself?”

“Oh you know me, always playing with knives,” he gave her a wide grin, wincing slightly when it pulled at his bruises. 

“Yeah, but you gotta play more carefully, or mom’ll be mad,” Vanya said. The look she and Diego exchanged was almost silly, an inside joke passed between two siblings. It made Eudora’s chest ache.

“Mmm...I miss mom,” Diego said, leaning back against the pillows. 

“You can visit her, Diego, she’s still at home,” Vanya said, smiling softly. “I called to let her know you were hurt, and she’s glad you’re okay.”

“That was nice of you, V,” Diego yawned. “Did young bring any cookies?”

“No, I’m sorry,” she said, chuckling softly. “I didn’t have time to bake.”

“You and Mom always had cookies when we got hurt,” Diego said. His words were starting to slur. 

“Yeah, big plates full of chocolate-chips,” Vanya said. “Mom’s recipe is the best in the world.”

“Not always chocolate,” Diego said, his eyes closed, nearly asleep. “Ben didn’t like those ones. Ben liked…” 

Diego’s voice tapered off, and for a moment, Eudora was sure he had fallen asleep. She was just about to say as much when Diego’s eye opened, looking a little clearer than it had before. He suddenly leaned closer to his sister. “Vanya?”

“Yeah, Diego, I’m still here.”

“Vanya, why are you here?”

She looked a little confused and reached out a hand to ruffle his hair on the side of his head not covered in bandages. “Hey, you already asked me that. Did you hit your head too hard?”

Diego batted away her arm as best he could, his face shuttering. “I don’t want you here.”

“Diego, c’mon, don’t say that, you’re hurt,” Vanya said, starting to sound a little worried. “I’m here to--”

“To what? Write another book about me? Spill the rest of my secrets to the world?”

Vanya looked at him, horrified. “Diego...I...I didn’t--”

“Yes you did, don’t lie,” Diego said. “You had no right to...to  _ expose _ us like this, Vanya. To write this shit about us. About me!”

“It wasn’t about you, Diego, it was about  _ me _ , it was about…”

“It was about how you felt left out because you were the only one dad didn’t torture!” Diego choked out. “It was about how you watched dad tear the rest of us to shreds one by one while you sat back and watched and felt sorry for yourself!”   
  
“That’s not fair!” Vanya cried. “He’s my dad too, I’m just as much a victim of his parenting as the rest of you.”

“Wrong!” Diego yelled. Eudora realized he was starting to cry. “You played violin while dad had me throwing knives until my shoulders dislocated! You baked cookies with Mom while Klaus got locked in that crypt for hours! Dad didn’t force you under the needle like he did for us! Dad didn’t break you down to nothing like he did to Allison! You got a life while the rest of us got  _ missions _ and you have the fucking nerve to pretend like had it worse off, worse than Five who is  _ gone  _ and Ben is  _ dead _ !”

“That’s not my fault,” Vanya yelled back. “I would have been right there with you all if dad had let me!”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” Diego wiped his face, jerkily. “You think being ‘special’ is the only thing there is, when being ordinary is something I w-w...I could...I could never…” his voice was strained. “It was private, Vanya. It was our story to forget, and you took that away from all of us. From me.”

“Wrong,” Vanya said, her voice like glass. “It was my story. And I can’t forget it, it’s the only thing I can ever think about. How you all were just so...and I couldn’t, even when I tried and-and I just...” She broke off, a sob in her throat. Then, softer, just to herself, “I thought this might help.”

“You didn’t help anyone but yourself, sis,” Diego said. “All you did was use the rest of us to make yourself seem special. Congratulations, you’re finally extraordinary.”

“Fuck you, Diego.”

“You know, I always thought Allison was the selfish one in our family,” Diego had a deranged little smile dancing across his face, his good eye glassy. “Guess I was wrong. But hey, maybe that’s your superpower, right sis? Super Selfish?”

“Shut up.”

“Super Resentful?”

“Stop--”

“Super Nothing? Super Lonely? Super Worthless--”

“ _ Diego, stop!” _ Vanya shrieked, shooting up from the chair and standing over him, face white, fists clenched.

“That’s enough,” Eudora said. Both Hargreeves startled at the sound of her voice, clearly having forgotten she was there.

Eudora walked over to Vanya, standing too close to her, looming. “I think it’s time for you to leave, Ms. Hargreeves,” she said, quietly. “I will call you tomorrow to notify you of his progress.”

“Don’t bother,” Vanya snapped, refusing to meet either of their gazes. Without a backwards glance, she hurried for the hallway, tear tracks visible on her cheeks, slamming the door behind her.

Eudora followed her out, blinking in the harsh light. She made no move to call her, only watch her retreating back, making sure she left for good.

“Officer? Is everything alright?” One of the other nurses came forward, eyes wide, looking nervous.

“Yes, everything is fine,” Eudora said, breathing deeply through her nose. She went to return to the room but the nurse stopped her.

“I’m sorry, but visitor hours are ending in a moment,” the nurse said. “So I’m going to have to ask you to--”

Eudora made up her mind quickly. “Official police business,” she said. “I’ll be staying here this evening to keep an eye on the patient. If you have a problem with that, you can bring it up with my captain.”

She didn’t wait for a reply, turning and strutting back into the room like she had every authority to issue that demand. Which she most certainly did not.

Diego was asleep when she entered, his breathing heavy and measured, the machines beeping idly behind him. His cheeks were still wet, and Eudora brushed some of the lingering tears away.

Sighing, she walked over to the chair by his bed, settling in and making herself as comfortable as she could.

It would be a long night.

\---

After an uncomfortable night half asleep in a hospital chair, the morning passed by Eudora in a blur.

Bright and early, the doctor came in and ushered her out, explaining Diego’s rib was to be examined for any breaks and he was going to get prepped for shoulder surgery.

“Given what the nurses were telling me about the, er, scene last night, I take it you’ll be the patient’s point of contact moving forward?” the doctor asked.

Eudora knew she could go home, this was the perfect opportunity to slip out unnoticed, but she stayed, agreeing at least to be his ride back home following surgery.

She freshened up quickly in the bathroom--giving up halfway through because there’s only so much you could do after a night spent in a rickety old chair--and went to find the cafeteria for some coffee.

Semi-refreshed and caffeinated, Eudora gave her captain a call, updating him on what Diego had been able to tell her the night before.

“And I’ll be taking a personal day, captain, if that’s alright,” Eudora said, twisting her fingers hard into the pay-phone cord, dreading his response.

The captain took a beat. “Is that a smart move, Patch?”

“Probably not, sir,” Eudora sighed. “But it’s necessary.”

“I trust your judgement on this, Patch.”

“Thank you, sir.”

And then it was a matter of waiting. Diego’s rib had miraculously not broken, but his shoulder still needed to be fixed up. A nurse brought Eudora to the waiting room when Diego had been brought back for surgery, noting it would probably be about two hours before the operation was done.

“We do it all the time, it’s an easy fix,” the nurse said, patting Eudora on the arm when she noted her worry.

Easy fix or no, Eudora spent the next few hours fretting. She picked up magazines to thumb through and quickly discarded them, paced the halls of the waiting rooms, vaguely watched the news playing in the corner, and just waited, and waited, and waited.

Just after the two hour mark, the head surgical nurse returned to let Eudora know that Diego’s operation was complete--he was doing fine, surgery had been successful, and he was in recovery now.

It all went faster from there. 

Eudora had forms to sign, a cab to call, then there was Diego, his head lulling against a heavily bandaged shoulder being wheeled out in a chair. It took Eudora and a male orderly to get him safely in the backseat of the cab, and Eudora had to yell at the driver three times on the way back to the gym to be more careful with the potholes.

Diego slept peacefully, his head against Eudora’s shoulder, snoring softly as the city raced by.

\---

The sight of the seedy exterior of Al’s Boxing Gym brought some level of comfort to Eudora. This was familiar Diego Territory, this is where she expected him to be, not bleeding out on a warehouse floor, not wired up on some hospital bed.

“I was wondering what he got up to,” Al said, meeting them at the cab.

“Nothing good,” Eudora said. “Help me carry him to his room?”

He groused about it, complaining the whole way about the mess Diego had left, how heavy he was, why his two-bit janitor was causing him more trouble than he was worth.

Still, he left Eudora with a high-grade first-aid kit and brought in some extra blankets for Diego’s bed. And when he left, she swore she heard him mutter, “rest easy, kid.”

Eudora got Diego undressed (repressing fonder memories of this act) and eased him under the covers. “Here you go, easy does it,” she said. She went and got him a glass of water and laid it by his bedside table.

He grumbled something unintelligible, his good arm outstretched towards her, eyes fighting to stay open.

“Say that again?” Eudora asked, leaning down to hear him.

“‘Mere,” Diego slurred.

“Diego, I can’t, you’re hurt.”

“Please,” he sighed. He drunkenly patted the space next to his good side, inching over so Eudora would have room.

When she hesitated, Diego sighed again. “Don’ wanna be alone.”

And because Eudora was a strong woman,  _ but not that strong _ , and because he had been broken on a hospital bed not twelve hours ago, and because he looked soft and warm and inviting, she gave in. 

“But only for a little while,” she said, kicking off her shoes and easing her way under the covers.

Diego instantly tangled his legs with hers, burying his face in her hair. God, she had forgotten how good it felt to be with him, and she was so tired. She closed her eyes, telling herself she deserved a few moments of rest after the night she’d had. 

She floated in between wakefulness and sleep for some time before finally giving in and burrowing further into Diego and the sheets.

“Dora?” he whispered into her hair.

“Mmm?”

“Thank you.”

“Mmm…”

“I love you, Dora.” It was so quiet she barely heard it. She might as well have been dreaming it.

_ I love you too, Diego _ , Eudora thought. She meant to say it out loud, but she was asleep before she got the chance.

\---

Eudora woke up hours later, cold. She went to snuggle closer to where Diego was, deeper into the covers, only to find the bed empty.

“Diego?” she squinted into the blue light of twilight filling the small room. In the corner, she spotted Diego, struggling with something. “Diego, what are you doing?” 

He tensed at the sound of her voice. “Go back to sleep, Eudora,” he said gruffly. He didn’t turn around to look at her.

She sat up, confused. “Diego, you shouldn’t be up. Come back to b--”

“I’m fine. I have to go.”

Now she was up. “Go? Go where?”

“There’s still shit to do, Eudora,” he said. She could see now he was struggling trying to get his harness on. He still hadn’t looked at her.

“Diego, you just had surgery this morning,” she said. “C’mon, don’t do this, you’ll only hurt yourself.” She went to lay a hand on his good shoulder to steer him back to bed, but he shrugged her off and stepped away, back still turned.

“I’m fine, Eudora. I don’t need your pity.”

“Pity? What are you talking about?”

“You don’t have to stay and you don’t have to pretend anymore, Eudora,” Diego rounded around to finally look at her. His face was set and very cold. “I appreciate you getting me home this morning, but I can take it from here.”

Eudora’s pulse was beating wildly in her ears, her throat growing tight. “Diego, I don’t understand.”

“I get it,” he said. “I got hurt under your watch, and that’s on me. So you don’t have to stick around and play pretend-girlfriend anymore. I can take care of myself.”

“Is that what you think I’m doing?” Eudora asked, shock coloring her voice in indignation. 

“I don’t know what you’re doing,” Diego said, his voice breaking on the last word. “But I need to go--I need  _ you  _ to  _ go, _ ” he gave up with his harness and threw it away, sinking to the ground and covering his face with his good hand.

Something was happening. Something was splitting between them that had never split before, and Eudora couldn’t name it, didn’t have the words to do so. She felt tears burning behind her eyes, and she wanted nothing more than to sink to the ground with him and hold his hand but he felt so far away.

“Diego,” she tried, shakily. “Please, I--”

“I can’t do this, Eudora,” he said, his voice muffled by his hand. “Between you and Vanya...I just...I need to be alone. I need you to go. Please. Please, go.”

Whatever was splitting between them shattered. Feeling the resounding break somewhere in her chest, Eudora didn’t trust herself to speak. She didn’t even say goodbye, just turned and left, closing the door softly behind her.

It was properly dusk when she walked out of the gym, the moon shining down on the empty parking lot.There was a mantra beating in her head, tied to her heartbeat.  _ But I love you. But I love you. But I love you. _ And it hurt, hurt more than anything to know she was too coward to walk back and say those words to his face. Because, what if he hadn’t meant to say that to her? Maybe he hadn’t meant it?

It didn’t matter. Eudora shook herself out of her reverie, took a deep breath, and started walking toward the bus stop. If he wanted her to go, she would go.

She didn’t come back.

**Author's Note:**

> Ever since this show came out, I've had this head cannon that Vanya was everyone's emergency contact. She's dependable, she's seemingly non-judgemental, and she's sympathetic. She's desperate for a relationship that makes her feel valuable, and showing up for people in an emergency? Fits the bill. 
> 
> Then she publishes that book and destroys her relationships with her siblings.
> 
> That deep sense of betrayal is what's pushing Diego here. To him, Vanya was like Mom; someone quiet, sweet and ordinary who needed protection. Not once did it ever cross his mind that she could hurt him, especially not in such a personal way. Diego is show to be fiercely loyal, so I think any betrayal to his loyalty would hit him very hard.
> 
> So, with that in mind, he gets seriously injured. Then his ex-girlfriend shows up. Then his sister, who he has an all-out fight with. Then he goes under the knife for surgery and he wakes up feeling weak and betrayed by his own body's abilities. THEN. He says I love you to Eudora and he does not hear her say it back.
> 
> So he breaks down a little. He lashes out. He needs space. This chapter for me is a turning point in his character growth. One of the building blocks that turns him into the cynical and bitter man from the show.
> 
> I have two more chapter ideas left for this series, so let's see where this growth takes him. Hopefully somewhere good.
> 
> EASTER EGGS: 
> 
> -"I like a good scar." Diego said this to Eudora in We Could Fly ('Cause We All Have Wings) ch. 1 when she was patching him up.
> 
> -"But the Past Ain’t Through With You" is a TUA short-story that heavily features the Rumor, which is why Allison's new movie is named "Through With You."
> 
> -Gerard Way actually wrote a back-cover review for Vanya's book in the show. I noted him as a "long-forgotten singer" because if I have to read another post that goes "wow! Did you know Gerard Way, writer of TUA was in a BAND??" my little emo heart is going to break in two.


End file.
